Track Posts Eight Top-5 Finishes at Big 12s

Sophomore Marsielle McBeam receives her medal on the podium after a career-best mark and a fourth-place finish in the high jump at the Big 12 Championships.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The West Virginia University track and field team completed the third, and final day, of competition at the 2014 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, tonight, in Lubbock, Texas.

Mountaineer competitors registered seven season-best and four career-best marks over the three days of competition. West Virginia also recorded eight top-five results.

In the high jump, sophomore Marsielle McBeam posted a career-best mark of 1.76 meters. McBeam finished in a tie for fourth, while breaking her previous season-best mark by nearly two inches.

Senior Stormy Nesbit carried her momentum from yesterday’s fifth-place finish in the long jump into today’s action. Nesbit tied a career-best mark in the triple jump of 13.07 meters set back in 2012 to place third.

Senior Sarah Martinelli continued her success this season in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Martinelli, a Morgantown, W.Va., native, placed fourth in the 3,000 steeple. Freshman Megan Yuan finished right behind Martinelli in fifth place overall.

In the 100-meter hurdles, senior Chene Townsend placed fifth in 13.38. Townsend ran a season-best time of 13.37 in the prelims yesterday.

Following a second-place result in the 10,000 meters on Friday night, junior Allison Lasnicki placed fourth in the 5,000 meters. Lasnicki joined Nesbit as the two Mountaineers to record multiple top-five finishes over the weekend.

WVU will be off next weekend in preparation for the first round of NCAA Championships, the NCAA East Preliminary Round, on May 29-31 in Jacksonville, Fla. Athletes who rank among the top 48 in their respective event earn berths to the NCAA East Preliminary. An announcement of the qualifying athletes will be made on Thursday, May 22, at 1 p.m., ET.

Information on WVU’s qualifying athletes can be found later in the week at WVUsports.com.